by Karli Kujawa, Junior Art Director @ Silver Square
Since this is the inaugural year of the Indiana Companies to Watch awards program it was crucial to have a number of printed items that both explained what the program was, as well as, displayed the program's branding. As we talked about in yesterday's blog, the Companies to Watch branding incorporated spotlight imagery to reference the 50 Indiana businesses that have a place in the public's spotlight.
We started off by designing a fact sheet to distribute to eligible businesses that explained what the program was about. Since this was the public's first look at the program it had to have the Companies to Watch branding, but it also had to include a great deal of important information. This was achieved by creating a two-sided 8.5" x 11" flysheet with the branding as the header and footer and the information in the center.
Also in February we designed a call for entries postcard. It was the public's first look at this new program so it incorporated the Companies to Watch branding, a short explanation of the program, how and where to apply, and deadlines.
To further spread the word of the awards program, ads were placed in local business publications like the Indianapolis Business Journal in order to get more businesses to enter. We designed ads for these publications in March and April. They included the branding, key information, and the program sponsors.
Next, we designed the invitation for the awards reception. We wanted the invitation to be professional, yet elegant. We kept the same Companies to Watch branding, but applied it to a unique paper called "Shine". This gave the invitation a hint of irridesence and glamour without overshadowing its purpose. We also had to create and coordinate the printing of separate invitations for the general public and award recipients, as well as an insert for select people invited to a special VIP cocktail hour.
All the printed materials turned out nicely, especially the invitations on the special paper. As a result of these efforts the awards reception has had more people R.S.V.P. than ever anticipated.
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